The Bible Makes Us Baptists, by Mary E. Bamford

“This book is a treasury of literary testimony to the truth that God has called His choice servants to a life of suffering and sacrifice. The modern-day Christianity we so loosely profess and so lightly possess blushes in the presence of the martyrs and maidens found in The Bible Makes Us Baptists. The Ana-Baptists depicted in this story reveal the greatness of their faith and the confidence in the Word of God we can all aspire to and desire.” ~from the back of the book

Title: The Bible Makes Us Baptists (formerly In Editha’s Days)

Author: Mary E. Bamford

Genre(s): Christian Historical Fiction

Rating: ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ (four stars)

Romance Content: There was “romance”, as the MC gets married, etc, but I think it was appropriate.

Recommended age range: Definitely at least 10+, with parents’ discretion advised (more in review).

My Review:

This was an excellent book! It managed to cover many important events in Baptist history from one woman’s perspective (the book is fictional, but many of the things in the book happened to real people). It was sad, yet encouraging, to learn all that the Anabaptists went through for Christ. It is important to know your heritage, and this book would be a great one to read if you are interested in learning more about Baptist history!

My favorite part was learning about a fifteen-year-old young man who, when asked questions about his faith, was able to clearly explain his beliefs and why he believed them from the Bible (he later was martyred because he would not deny his faith). It was encouraging (and challenging!) that even young people should be able to articulate and explain the Bible to others.

The one thing that I did not like about the book was the amount of detail in describing Anabaptists’ deaths. I realize that there were horrible atrocities done to them, and I think it is important to know about it, but I don’t think it was really necessary to include the details. That is the only reason why I would hesitate before handing it to a child younger than 10– but I am not a parent, and parents know their children best.

I highly recommend this book! If you are younger than ten years old, I would recommend that you ask your parents for their permission before reading it, but otherwise I think it would be helpful for any Baptist to read The Bible Makes Us Baptists.